Nabucco bid continues
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Daily News with wires
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 20, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Amid Europe's worst gas crisis, the prime minister says Turkey might review its position regarding the Nabucco pipeline aimed at reducing the continent’s dependency to Russian gas, if the energy chapter is blocked
Turkey’s prime minister yesterday made a u-turn on his statement that the country would review its position on a strategic new gas pipeline for Europe that would bypass Russia if its European Union accession talks were blocked.
The warning by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan came amid Europe's worst gas crisis caused by a dispute between Russia and Ukraine that has led to gas shortages across the continent.
The crisis has focused attention on the need to reduce Europe's dependence on Russian gas, with the proposed Nabucco pipeline that would carry supplies from the Caspian Sea or Middle East via Turkey to Austria seen as critical.
"If we are faced with a situation where the energy chapter is blocked then we would review our position" on Nabucco, AFP quoted Erdoğan as saying during a speech at the European Policy Centre in Brussels.
However, after his meeting with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, Erdoğan said Turkey would give full support to the project at all times. Expressing that Turkey would not use energy as a weapon, Erdoğan said the country was aware of its duty in terms of transit country."We agreed for the need for this pipeline," Barroso said after the meeting.
Greek Cyprus
"The other side ought to be fair in his treatment," Erdoğan earlier said. "They should not prefer Southern Cyprus, located far away from Europe and only a few hundred thousand people, compared with Turkey with 70 million people." He added: "We have to talk about the facts openly. Southern Cyprus is putting pressure so that some chapters are not opened, like energy."
Nabucco is a proposed 3,400-kilometer pipeline between Turkey and Austria that would transport up to 31 billion cubic meters of gas each year.
Erdoğan also said he hoped to see "a leap" in Turkey's efforts to join the EU in 2009. "For us there is no alternative to becoming a full member," he said.
Erdoğan's trip comes as Ankara faces EU pressure to speed up reforms in a decisive year for its slow-moving accession process. "I am surprised" at the slow pace, said Erdoğan, making his first trip to Brussels since the EU agreed in December 2004 to start the entry process.
Erdoğan said Turkey was working on many of the reforms asked for by the EU, including laws governing trade unions, Reuters reported. "We do not ask for privileges, what we ask for is equal and fair treatment. We are not here to be a burden for the EU we want to share the burden," he said, complaining that areas of the talks, known as chapters, had been blocked for political reasons.
Criticizing negative comments about his country in the EU, Erdoğan said: "Our people are reacting to some negative declarations from the EU side which question Turkey's accession to the EU. But we are very decisive, it is a top priority issue."
Some EU nations firmly oppose the idea of Turkey, a mainly Muslim country of 70 million, joining the bloc amid misgivings among voters. France favors a special relationship that stops short of full membership for Turkey.
Erdoğan also said every EU chair only opened negotiations on two chapters. "This almost became a routine and we want to break this cycle by opening three or four chapters during the Czech presidency," he said.
Erdoğan on media
Upon a question of his cancelation of seven senior prime ministry reporters’ accreditations on November, Erdoğan said the West was misinformed on the state of the Turkish media. Claiming that he did not censor the press, Erdoğan said.
"I merely told my organization to not to allow press members who wrote untruthful reportsÉyou are claiming that hundreds of journalists are in prison. This is not true. Please do your research well."
The warning by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan came amid Europe's worst gas crisis caused by a dispute between Russia and Ukraine that has led to gas shortages across the continent.
The crisis has focused attention on the need to reduce Europe's dependence on Russian gas, with the proposed Nabucco pipeline that would carry supplies from the Caspian Sea or Middle East via Turkey to Austria seen as critical.
"If we are faced with a situation where the energy chapter is blocked then we would review our position" on Nabucco, AFP quoted Erdoğan as saying during a speech at the European Policy Centre in Brussels.
However, after his meeting with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, Erdoğan said Turkey would give full support to the project at all times. Expressing that Turkey would not use energy as a weapon, Erdoğan said the country was aware of its duty in terms of transit country."We agreed for the need for this pipeline," Barroso said after the meeting.
Greek Cyprus
"The other side ought to be fair in his treatment," Erdoğan earlier said. "They should not prefer Southern Cyprus, located far away from Europe and only a few hundred thousand people, compared with Turkey with 70 million people." He added: "We have to talk about the facts openly. Southern Cyprus is putting pressure so that some chapters are not opened, like energy."
Nabucco is a proposed 3,400-kilometer pipeline between Turkey and Austria that would transport up to 31 billion cubic meters of gas each year.
Erdoğan also said he hoped to see "a leap" in Turkey's efforts to join the EU in 2009. "For us there is no alternative to becoming a full member," he said.
Erdoğan's trip comes as Ankara faces EU pressure to speed up reforms in a decisive year for its slow-moving accession process. "I am surprised" at the slow pace, said Erdoğan, making his first trip to Brussels since the EU agreed in December 2004 to start the entry process.
Erdoğan said Turkey was working on many of the reforms asked for by the EU, including laws governing trade unions, Reuters reported. "We do not ask for privileges, what we ask for is equal and fair treatment. We are not here to be a burden for the EU we want to share the burden," he said, complaining that areas of the talks, known as chapters, had been blocked for political reasons.
Criticizing negative comments about his country in the EU, Erdoğan said: "Our people are reacting to some negative declarations from the EU side which question Turkey's accession to the EU. But we are very decisive, it is a top priority issue."
Some EU nations firmly oppose the idea of Turkey, a mainly Muslim country of 70 million, joining the bloc amid misgivings among voters. France favors a special relationship that stops short of full membership for Turkey.
Erdoğan also said every EU chair only opened negotiations on two chapters. "This almost became a routine and we want to break this cycle by opening three or four chapters during the Czech presidency," he said.
Erdoğan on media
Upon a question of his cancelation of seven senior prime ministry reporters’ accreditations on November, Erdoğan said the West was misinformed on the state of the Turkish media. Claiming that he did not censor the press, Erdoğan said.
"I merely told my organization to not to allow press members who wrote untruthful reportsÉyou are claiming that hundreds of journalists are in prison. This is not true. Please do your research well."